


The Common Enemy

by RosslynLovelace



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bara Sans, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Happy Ending, M/M, Reader Is Not Chara (Undertale), Reader Is Not Frisk (Undertale), Some scary shit, This is my first real fanfiction, but we all suffering from this virus, i just think underfell sans is cooler, if i need to tag anything lemme know, ill call him red in this interchangeably, its a slow burn, its his nickname, its underfell sans, love his little gold tooth, mostly because the y/n stuff bugs me to write, so i gotta find something to do, so this ones got, some sexy shit, the reader insert is named and is a defined oc, there will be eventual smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:42:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24941017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosslynLovelace/pseuds/RosslynLovelace
Summary: Its been 100 years since the war started. There was the First Impact. There was the Second Impact. And now the Third Impact. But the General is not about to let this get in the way of her master plan.She's tired of war and death. Hoping to lead the humans into a new era of peace, she connives and manipulates. But the newest wrench in her plan sees straight through her...Sans, the wrench, sees right through this human. But despite it all...why does he keep coming to her meetings?
Relationships: Alphys/Undyne (Undertale), Sans (Undertale)/Reader
Comments: 6
Kudos: 17





	1. The Third Impact

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic. I'm trying to write a novel and no writing is wasted writing. So I wrote this in one day. Sans is my guilty pleasure. Anyway, this chapter has some heavy horror and gore. But it's ok, you don't like the guy anyway. Please comment *Jeb Bush voice*

PRESENT DAY  
The sun slipped over the hills and a smile twisted up the ends of the Generals lips. Tomorrow would be the day your plan would roll into motion and after that you would finally be able to rest. Quit this façade you had been putting on for so long. You clench your necklaces and take a deep breath, steadying yourself. Remembering who you were doing this for was the only thing that kept you going.

  
Tomorrow you would stand in front of the Monster King and all his little monster pals; you would plead your case, manipulate if you had to and everything would come together. You were tired…tired of all the people you knew falling one after another. You were tired of prejudice, tired of bodies, tired of fear. You took one more look at the dying light and retreated to your room, preparing yourself for tomorrow.  
…  
It had been many moons since the monsters had come to the surface. Things had been different then, before they came. Society had order, to some degree. There at least was society. At first it had seemed like it might work. There had been attempts at cooperation. Protests on both sides. Society slipped back into a little normalcy, for a time. But then came the First Impact and it had fallen apart as if it were never held together at all. You had not even been born when the city burned. And then the next city. And the next. The little fights turned into bigger ones, then to massacres. Soon it was just all war. A decade later, Second Impact, like someone had pushed reset on human society. Everything had to start over. All former hubs of human activity became radioactive, like a hundred elephants foots spread across the world.

  
Now there was only one thing we were all born into and that was the Great Divide. Not a literal divide, though sometimes it felt like a true solid barrier. The humans stood on one side. Creative, flexible, resilient. Illogical, conniving, and worst of all for the monsters, two humans could create a new one every year. On the other side was monsterkind. Unique, passionate, intelligent. Extreme, traditional, and impossibly, magically powerful. It was the perfect infinite stalemate. While one monster could take out 10 humans, one human could create 10 more. Monsters simply did not reproduce like humans did and their numbers would never increase at the rate of humankind.

  
Technology, too, had played a huge part in this. Human technology had changed extremely since the beginning. No more ingenuity went into the internet, into electricity, into healthcare, into anything but war. Advancements in weapons threatened to turn the tide. Humans, much like monkeys, could emulate what they see as a winning strategy. Therein, focus was put onto individual power, and humans of considerable strength of mind and body were taken into the army, a breeding ground for hate and internal conflict.

  
However, on the other side, monsters took to their own technologies, further advanced than the humans as it was. But their weapons lay in wait, for times of dire need.

  
After many decades, thin treaties and empty promises had brokered a weak, pathetic peace. It threatened the lives of every living thing on Earth when it would soon crumble.

  
This is the era you find yourself in. A lone warrior, climbing through the ranks like a game. You stood near the top when the Third Impact came.  
…  
ONE WEEK PRIOR  
A normal day…another day. You stood with the General, an imposing, angry man. Before you was the first chapter of it all. Mt. Ebott, the former home of all the devils and all the worlds sins. The Pandoras Box of legend busted open by some kid. These were not your personal thoughts, but the rhetoric of the General and all his little men. You kept your scoffing to yourself.

  
This place was a few days travel from your base and the ride had not been fun. Skirting major cities, including the former Ebott City, lengthened the trip considerably.

  
“Now what General?”

  
“Now Lieutenant, we walk inside the mouth of Hell.”

  
You bit your lip to keep from laughing. General Coscombe lived his life as though he was being recorded by someone writing his memoir. If he thought it was going to be you, he was terribly incorrect.

  
“Shall we,” he began again.

  
You simply nodded, expertly dodging his outstretched hand. Behind you followed your personal assistant. He was somewhere between a private and a secretary. The three other privates saluted and began to march up the hill, looking foolishly wooden.  
Coscombe sighed as they passed him. “I truly hate new recruits.”  
…  
The trail up the mountain was winding and occasionally steep, but the air was cool. It was a true marvel that all around you was the wreckage of former civilization, and in the middle of it all this mountain stood unchanged by the tides of war. Fearing some terrible danger here, this area was rarely visited.

  
You stared at the back of the General’s bald head, wishing the lack of hair would be one less barrier between his brain and your need to read his mind. A trip to Mt. Ebott with tensions rising as they were? What could he possibly hope to find here? His answers had been vague before, but you got the sense he knew some secret. This made you feel unsafe. Being caught unawares was not the way you enjoyed living your life.

  
You quickened your pace to walk beside him.

  
“When we get to the precipice, how do you plan on getting down into the hole?” you asked.

  
“Lieutenant, you will enter with me, along with Private Jackson. The other Privates will stand and keep watch of the rope. When we find what we may find, we will leave.”

  
“Ah, I’m glad you mentioned that. What may we find down there? I am hard pressed to believe there may be anything of use that the monsters left behind. They would not simply forget to take some sort of war changing bit of this or that."

  
“Well,” he replied sounding exasperated, “If you must know, there has been new energy readings down in the depths. A squadron picked it up and reported it to us.”

  
“What!” you exclaimed. “That’s…unbelievable.’

  
The General turned to smile at you. You knew he had misread your outburst as uncontained excitement, but you were simply shocked.

  
“Indeed, Lieutenant.” He turned to face the peak of the mountain, getting closer by the minute. “Something is stirring in Mt. Ebott.”

  
A cold wind stirred, just then, ghosting over you. Your arms and neck erupted into gooseflesh.  
The winds of premonition, you thought darkly.  
…  
Reaching the summit, you all sat in a circle to break bread. Your assistant, Espada, sat next to you, quietly munching his hard tack. The General was busy conversing with the other Privates, likely discussing the game plan.

  
Espada whispered to you, “did you finally get the truth from the General?”

  
Turning to him, you simply nodded.

  
“Well,” he started, a few octaves higher than normal. “What is it?”

  
“Hm. Likely, bad news. Best case scenario, its nothing.”

  
“Best case scenario, its something that can help us win.”

  
This made you sigh. Espada was a sweet kid. Not a killer. Just a boy who heard too much from his peers that knocked his head the wrong direction. It was a work in progress trying to get him to see the light.

  
“In your hopes, what do you see, Espada? Do you see a huge super weapon we can use to wipe them all out once and for all? Do you imagine their bodies turning into dust on the ground? Their whole castle, men, women and children, gone, in an instant?”

  
Espada paled slowly, beginning to stutter like he wanted to interrupt you. You gazed into his brown eyes and he stared helplessly into your olive ones. But you did not let up.

  
“Will it be you who aims and pushes the button? And if one last one survived and asked you why…what would you say?”

  
You stopped then, waiting for a response. Seeing he had nothing, you turned away.

  
“They’ve killed us, Lieutenant. They’ve killed so many of us.”

  
“We’ve all been killing each other. We’ve all been dusting each other for so long. If I find something down there, I want it to be the secret to peace. Either that, or a warm pastry.”  
…  
The ropes went endlessly into the abyss.

  
“You first, Lieutenant.”

  
You glared at the General but nonetheless decided to go first meant to go quicker. Checking your sturdy hide gloves and apologizing for what you were about to do to them, you stepped to the hole. With the last look back at the sun, you jumped.

  
Of all the physical feats you could perform, none felt so good as the ones that left people looking at you agape. It is worth mentioning that you rose through the ranks quickly for many reasons, but not least of all your absolute mastery of everything physical. But you liked to think instead of the palace of your mind as the reason that in but 4 years you had gone from a voluntold private to voluntarily kicking ass at being second hand to the General.

  
Turning in the air like a cat, you caught the rope and squeezed, but not too tightly to stop you. Like that, you slid deftly down the rope. It felt like far too long and you knew if you didn’t touch ground soon, the rope would slip from your grasp and you would free fall into what felt like a starless outer space.

  
It was just then that your prediction came true. You ran out of rope and your hand slipped over the knot at the end. Preparing to die, you orientated your body in a way that would allow you to roll upon impact, lessening the blow. This of course would only do so much if the ground was 40 ft down, but as you understood it a kid fell in here without a rope and didn’t die. The glint of the floor suddenly caught your eye and you hit the ground on both shoulders, rolled down your back and into a sitting position. Acrobatic maneuver inside, that hurt like hell. The General would be fine. The distance between the ground and the rope was only about ten feet or so. But you know that this meant the others would likely not follow. You hoped Espada would not volunteer to come behind. Hopefully your earlier admonishing would put him off your presence.

  
It was not too many seconds after your own landing that the General landed (less gracefully than yourself) beside you. Dusting himself off he stood near you in the near perfect dark.

  
“Are you going to light up?” he asked.

  
“No, I am going to save it for whatever we may find down here.”

  
“Do you think there will be trouble, Lieutenant?”

  
You hated his tone. It was patronizing. You also twitched every time he called you Lieutenant. You were the Lieutenant General. But you held that in, opting instead to pull the torches out from the pack around your shoulder. Lighting one against the hard ground, you scanned the room, finally. The light from the top barely filtered in. Around you the floor looked like any other cave. Dead flowers littered the floor near where you had both landed. The length of this area was diminutive, only 15 by 15ft, you estimated. On one side was an opening. It appeared to have once been a legitimate door, but now it crumbled at the edges.

  
But more than the structure of the room, the history of it left you dumbstruck. You felt something in this air. A cave like this, uninhabited, might have felt dead. But this? This was alive. All around you the air hummed with energy. Almost 100 years ago some kid stumbled into this very cave and changed everything. For everyone. Within hours.

  
The General chose your moment of ponderance to spit onto the floor. You flinched, resisting the urge to kick him. Instead you made a funny, sort of strangled noise in the back of your throat.

  
“Can you believe that almost 100 years ago some dumb fucking brat fell into this hole and ruined everything?” he grunted.

  
Every day he tested you. You might have been Patience at this point. Except you were not. Not for much longer at least. You had planned. You had plotted. 100 years had gone by with no significant change. No one was willing to think big picture. Not like you were. It was fitting that you would find yourself down here, the beginning of it all, ready to begin it all again.

  
You didn’t believe in fate or destiny, so much. You believed in the powers of humans to change. Humans made their own choices and kept deciding wrong, but you liked to think it was because they were too scared to stand out and choose right. That was an easier pill to swallow then that humans were incapable of acting right. To stick their neck out and do what was good for everyone. Humans would cut their nose to spite their face, and to spite monsters they would continue to shoot themselves in the foot.

  
Like the General. He had no right leading all of humanity into depravity. You knew that if you had asked him what you had asked Espada earlier, he would have told you that if he had been asked ‘why’ by a monster he wouldn’t have answered at all. He just would have shot them too. And he would stand amongst an eradicated race, damning all they could have accomplished if they worked together, feeling like he had won the day. Certainly, that day, but the day after that, what common enemy would keep humanity from infighting and destroying themselves too? Common citizens wanted a president, but you knew the General would use the army to take control. The only thing that stood at the end of this road was dictatorship.

  
You pondered this all as you two walked through the halls past the cavern. The General held in his hand some sort of infernal beeping device that was to be their leader in this journey. You had entered the cave around noon, and that meant that you only had a few hours to find what new something was down here, or you would have to sleep in this dark place. Neither of you wanted this and so you both walked swiftly. Still there was the feeling of energy in the air but even as you exited the cave you had seen not one living nor dead thing. There was nothing but the feeling of happening in the air.

  
As you exited the smaller cavern, stepping over fallen boulders, everything opened up. Even Coscombe had the sense of mind to gasp. It was truly mind-bendingly enormous. It was also cold…very cold. You moved forward, the beeping of the small device becoming incredibly more irritating. Louder and faster it chirped as you two walked through the thin snow on the ground. Neither of you felt like asking how it was possibly snowing in a closed underground cavern. Cavern…this was not like a cavern. It was a pocket world inside our world.

  
Your amazement was truncated by a feeling that started to tickle in your stomach after the Generals earlier little quip. A sick feeling of dread…impending doom one might say. It became louder in your head as you pushed forward, and you found yourself sweating in the dead cold.

  
Suddenly you became aware of your General’s stare and knew you had been too zoned out to hear something he had said.

  
“Yes, sir?”

  
“I had asked if you had any theories on what is ticking down here.”

  
“No, General, but I wonder if it may be the little corner of hope left in Pandora’s box.”

  
You smiled darkly at this funny little thing you had just said. The General had no idea.

  
“I believe so too. Something to finally beat these disgusting animals. Maybe something they left behind. A hint at some weakness. I’ll take anything at this point. But you know what I wish?”

  
You didn’t and you didn’t care, but you got the feeling he would tell you whether you responded or not.  
  
“I wish that little changeling kid was still alive so when all his monster friends die, I could stare into his eyes and dust him.”

  
He laughed loudly, turning to see your face.

  
“Oh, I know how you hate my depravity. If I hadn’t seen you exit one of those beasts with my own eyes, I might think you were soft. But I know you’d do just the same.”

  
He was right. About one thing.

  
You weren’t soft.  
…  
More hours of walking. Heightened feelings of sickening fear. Occasionally you’d be able to habituate to the beeping and block it out. But then it would change its tune and it would worm its way back into your ear. You and the General both knew you only had a few hours of daylight left, but the beeping only kept getting louder. Even you wanted to know what it was at this point. It could just be someone’s microwave got power again and the sensor was picking up its electricity. Or it could be some giant super weapon the monsters unwittingly left behind in their old dungeon. That was unlikely after all, but stranger things have happened.  
Either way, your hands began to itch for your weapon. If it came too late and you would have to camp, it would be better to complete Stage 3 of your plan right then. You lit another torch as the first one burned too close to your fingers. That left one more.

  
It was then that you came across the door. It seemed thick and sturdy. It was also enormous. You could not fathom what was behind it, but opening it felt like a bad idea.

  
“We gotta open this door.”

  
His timing was truly comedic. “Do you really think that’s a good idea?” You ended up whispering unwittingly.

  
“I’ve never seen you so frightful. Do you need to go back? I don’t want you to piss yourself here.”

  
He smiled at you and didn’t know how easy he made this all for you. Reaching for your short sword and drawing it deftly, you stalked forward preparing to swing.  
But the General was too quick. He didn’t expect your attack, but what he did do was unleash some magic from his capsule gauntlet. He punched the wall clean through before you could even stop him.  
…  
There was silence and then many things happened at once. The door crumbled and fell away. The sensor went dead. The General turned to see your sword drawn. And the darkness on the other side of the door shifted, in a way that made you feel not very good. Your sense of self preservation needed you to turn and leave.  
“You expected danger? But look…there’s nothing to fear. We must be in the former lab of that monster scientist.”

  
You stepped back. Your olive eyes could not break away from the darkness inside the door. You couldn’t help but notice the way that the inside of the new room was not lit up by your torch, thought its light should have reached it. The room seemed full of something. Like the mass of darkness was eating the light. You stepped back again.

  
Then there was a great sighing around you and the energy you felt in the air buzzed to create audible sound.

  
Then something else happened. The darkness…shifted? It---reached out. The General turned, agape.

  
It came from the new room, stepped over the crumbled doorway. You thought it would be some monster, but it did not step out from shadow into the light. It instead was a piece of the shadow that broke away and took a fuzzy shape. It was about the size of a horse, vaguely shaped like a bipedal creature. It…shuffled forward and the General stepped back.

  
You knew what fear was. You had been well acquainted over the years. But this was not like that. The situation did not seem wrought. It was two very powerful humans against one creature. The fear came from the creature. Looking at it was like looking at the absence of reality. Something that should not be. Even the General would look at a monster and see something that was natural. You looked at this new thing and felt the fear eating your mind and your soul. The shadow thing did not seem to be interested in you and it stopped to look? around.

  
“This is what I wanted to find.” He somehow broke the suffocating silence.

  
“You wanted to find some sort of world unmaking shadow beast? You should not have opened that door, this should have stay- “

  
“What are you talking about,” he interrupted, “this is perfect! We can use it to get an edge on those beasts. If we could find a way to control it, we could sick it on them. I was right. There was a secret weapon down here. This will finally get them, and they will know that it’s me that obliterated them all. Their filthy fucking souls will finally be gone, and OUR world will be OURS again.”

  
You had never seen the General like this, even in the middle of an impassioned speech about monsters being baby eaters or whatever garbage he espoused. He appeared to be raving mad, his eyes darted about and he foamed slightly at the mouth. Had the creature done this to him? Just by looking at it? But this was your final proof. This man had unleashed what could be a Ragnarök upon this world and he did not even consider the consequences. A man like this in power could not be.

  
But right here and now you couldn’t do it. Leaving here alive was a part of your plan for yourself and you might need him to help you if there was a problem with this creature. He may have been weak of mind, but weak of body he was not.

  
The General was still muttering about his great victory over monsterkind. So, he did not notice when the great piece of darkness beyond the door moved again and another thing stepped out. It was about the same size, but its shape appeared different. It was hard to tell, looking at them was like looking at a deep hole and trying to see what was at the bottom. The General turned and approached the first creature. Your eyes on the new one, you didn’t notice when he left your side. It seemed to acknowledge his presence moving its…head? towards him. You stepped to the left, eyes still on the second creature. You turned just in time to see the General reaching out to touch the first beast.

  
“What are you DOING?!” Your shout startled the creature, which swung its large head to the side, knocking Coscombe in the chest. He grunted and fell backwards, eyes rolling wildly. You started towards the both, taking your eyes off the mass of darkness. But before you could reach them, the General stood, unsheathed his sword, and swung.

  
The blow caught the creature in the side, but it moved through the abominations chest like it was air. You both started at this. Was it truly a form without mass, pure shadow held together by something indescribable?

  
And then you felt it. A presence so near. You turned slowly, to see the second dread beast directly behind you. It was far too close and staring so deep into it you could hear mutterings inside of its form, like a voice scratching at your head trying to get through. You fortified yourself as it shuffled forward. One step back. Your hand on your weapon. It moaned as if in pain and reached out to you. The mutterings bit into your skull like a psychic force, but instead of words you saw...hands moving rapidly, little shapes dancing. Flashes of images, ghostly faces in your mind. Like staring out a window into the rainy night and seeing something staring back at you in the darkness. It felt like madness, completely incomprehensible. Your entire self fell into a pit of fear like a drop into water. Not a thought of escape or of attack could you form as it stood directly in front of you. The godforsaken thing reached out to you…almost...almost touching you. You knew in your mind that if it made contact it was over.

  
But a scream of fear and pain jump started your sense of self and you backed up, just as its hand swung where you had been. You put space between you to see what your…minutes? of mindlessness had forced you to miss.

  
There were more. The torch that lit the room lay nearer the broken door and like drops of molasses from a spoon, new beasts fell onto the floor, forming into variously shaped pieces of hell. The scream of fear had come from the General. The beast he had swung at was HOLDING both sides of his head in a vice grip. Coscombe was not moving, instead his lips formed silent words and his eyes were watering. You shouted, attempting to break the things hold on him. It was too late, though. Then you knew it was time to leave. The General would likely die down here in this hole anyway. You turned, resolving to go alone. No doubt it was just about night right now. You wanted nothing more than to leave this place. From there you would seal this hole up and hopefully no one would ever be foolish enough to come down here again.

  
“Lieu—lieutenant…” a voice rasped from closer to you then you knew anything to be to where you currently stood. You had great hearing, and people did not just move silently. The General stood behind you, regardless. His body twitched in a way that made you feel outrageously sick. His eyes were ruptured and bleeding, black ooze or maybe blood dripping from his ears and nose.

  
“Lieutenant, you took me down here to kill me, didn’t you? Why Lieutenant?” The General spoke, warbling. His mouth seemed not to move in sync with his words. He took an unsteady step forward and you turned to see all the things moving to surround you.

  
You were silent. Nothing you said would be understood by anything worth hearing it. The General was not a human anymore, maybe nothing that has ever been before. You mourned not ending him yourself because now he was something worse.

  
“Lieutenant…you know you’re not leaving here right? We came down here together and we found the weapon. The thing that will finally rid the world of the monsters. Aren’t you happy? Don’t you want to stay…with us?”

  


  
The little shapes danced around your head. The General took one step forward. You breathed in. The light went out. And you were all alone in the darkness with the end of the world.  
…  
You ran. This was absolute madness. The Lieutenant of the entire human army running in the dark from some psychic shadow creatures. You had no idea if they were right behind you. They all seemed to ambulate slowly. Reaching into your pack you pulled out the final torch lighting it just in time to see the General, directly beside you. He was running too, but his head was snapped to the side, smiling fully at you. You couldn’t help it. You shouted and tumbled to the floor. Unsheathing your short sword, you resolved to fight. There were no sign of the shadow beasts and it was just you and the Shadow General. He said nothing, swaying and twitching. You feinted left, then switched the sword behind your back and swung up. As you suspected, he dodged to the right and you sliced him from his hip to his shoulder.

  
His skin erupted like a balloon being popped. Instead of blood and guts, it was just the black ooze. He was nothing more than a skin suit filled with the void goo. He stumbled backwards and you witnessed with horror the mass moving upwards to fill him again, holding him together even as his skin hung in tatters.  
“Lucky shot Lieutenant. You’ll make a great second in command.” His mouth no longer moved when he spoke, but like viewing a screen in front of your eyes, his words in strange shapes danced before you. You weren’t sure if you were even truly hearing what he was saying or if you were simply reading the words that lived in your head now.

  
There was no beating him. You could cut him all apart and he would simply put himself back together like a nasty fucking jigsaw puzzle. You needed a better plan than mindless swinging. You’re happy you hadn’t used your magic to light the way or else you may very well have been fuck outta luck right now. But an idea is convalescing in your head. Shadow General swings at you, but his moves are sloppy and stupid, like a trainee. You disarm him easily, his sword clanging next to you. Bringing your foot under the sword you kick it up and catch it in your hand, sliding it through your belt in one smooth motion.  
“Now come at me again, you creepy bitch,” you mock. He simply smiles.

  
“All I have to do is touch you, Lieutenant. But you can never kill me. i’M aLrEaDy DeAd.”

  
You attempt to step in closer, trying to cut him open again, but his chest gap opens like a mouth and black oozy tentacles shoot out at you. To avoid, you do a tight back flip. The shadow spikes graze harmlessly over your head as you land crouched. From your low position you push up and the tip of your sword catches him in the crotch. You slice upwards with all your force, bisecting him clean through. Rolling sideways, you dodge the spray. Shadow Coscombe moans, his skin sliding onto the floor.

  
Then you activate your capsule gauntlet. Each gauntlet had four small vials, each filled with a different magic concentration. Humans had only been able to recreate a few. One was for fire and another deep colored one was for gravity. In conjunction you activate your fire, snapping your fingers in the silent cavern. Flame erupts from your outstretched hand. Forming a ring around the blob, you inch your fire in closer. The Generals skin burns and sours the air around you. The smell makes your head swim, but you focus best you can. Gravity magic hums from your gauntlet and you use it to trap the shadowy ooze into a little sphere. It takes some force of mind to squeeze the gravity magic endlessly inward, with no gaps and perfectly even pressure.

  
The light of the fire illuminates further down the hall, and you catch the herd of abominations ambling towards you, just a few feet away. Shrinking the levitating ball of force, you effectively capture it.

  
“You are coming with me, my oozy little comrade.” Certain that you can outpace the beasts, who can indeed only move at a slow shamble, you speed walk down through the snowy, ruined town, and back to the world above this one.  
…  
You reach the hall of dead flowers. By this time, a newly revised master plan has been born into your mind palace. Like all bad things, the silver lining can be found and effectively used. But you cannot fully concentrate until you contain the terrifying void material. The ooze slops and struggles around inside the glowing blue ball. It bobs a few inches above your hand. In your other hand, you clench the torch you had dropped at the beginning of your showdown. You drop it at the center of the room, to better see the rope that dangles 10 ft above your head.

  
Sprinting towards the wall closest to the rope, you run up it as far as you can, then push off with mighty force. Falling backward through the air, you catch the end of the rope and bounce up and down on it, hoping at least one officer is awake to see the jerking rope. You wait a few seconds, feeling resolved to having to climb one handed, when you feel the rope slowly pull up and away.  
…  
The light of the moon washes over you, and you take a lungful of air that you desperately needed. The fresh scent of the forest is extremely welcome. Someone grabs your hand and pulls you up. You lock eyes with Espada, who smiles widely and begins to say something, clearly some joke he had spent hours devising.  
But his mind is sharp and instead he notices your exhausted, sunken expression. You heave up onto the bit of dirt near the lip of the hole and land fully onto your back. Your vial of gravity magic is at half capacity. You spent your walk back testing the lowest amount of force you needed to keep the ball from growing. You had found since first capturing it, the ball had slowly shrunk, even though it was smaller now than the full amount of mass than was in it at the beginning. You knew none slipped out, so unless it teleported away, that left one explanation. Truly, this substance was devoid of mass. It was unbelievable and now out of the way of its deeply disturbing mind powers you could admire how absolutely fucked up whatever this stuff was.

  
The long silence has stretched on and you say nothing. Private Jackson asks timidly where the General is. But he knows. They all know. His sword on your hip could only mean one thing.

  
“Lieutenant…what was down there? What did you bring back? What-what happened?”

  
You like to save awesome one liners for truly deserving moments, and this was one. Perhaps inappropriate considering the direness of the situation. But sometimes words were more important than being mindful.

  
So, you fixed them all with a stare.

  
“Third Impact.”  
…  
His dreams were generally filled with the usual horrorterrors of his unconscious mind, but this one was different. He was back at his home, walking to the lab. Before everything had happened. Memories he was not usually afforded. But as he walked, everything around him fell apart, like time passing a million miles an hour. He couldn’t react and he realized that his mind was trapped inside a body that was moving forward, despite everything around crumbling. In front of him was a door. The door made him fill with a cold dread, though he didn’t know why. It was then that his conscious self erupted out of his body…only to see that the body he had been inhabiting was not his own, but some tan, brown haired woman. She did not seem to notice him, and he doubted he even had a form, just a pair of eyes observing a scene from a bird’s eye view.

  
The door cracked before their eyes and out poured terrible, all consuming darkness. The woman, face twisted with horror, dropped the torch she had been holding and it immediately went out. He heard and saw nothing more. Until a ghostly white face focused into view. Like looking at a screen, symbols, shaking and shuddering, appeared before him. He choked on terror.

  


  
Sans gasped awake, all alone in the darkness, thinking of the end of the world.


	2. The Angry Angry One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, they meet. Surprise! They hate each other. Comment if you'd like.

ONE DAY PRIOR  
They were all shocked when they received the letter. Handwritten and addressed to King Asgore, it read,

  
_King Asgore,_

_  
I have written this letter to inform you that the former General of humankind, Silas Coscombe, has recently passed under dire circumstances. There is grave news I must share with you concerning how the late General died that I think you need to know._

_  
As the new General, former Lieutenant General of humankind, I request to formally introduce myself to your court as we have never before met. In this time of unsteady peace, I believe it would be best to discuss the current state of things as well as plans to better serve our respective races._

_  
I look forward to your response and the offered date and time of our meeting. I am available at any time and will travel with the utmost haste to you._

_  
Sincerely,_

_  
General Madrigal Vieira_  
…  
The King responded to your letter within the hour, which you supposed was a good first step. Unlike your message, which was delivered by carrier pigeon, theirs appeared suddenly in the mailroom, as all their correspondences did.

  
You opened it, apprehension twinging your brow. But there was nothing to fear. He had accepted your request to meet. Tomorrow, at high noon, in fact. The immediacy of the meeting said something about his willingness to break bread with you. Of course, he had also included a request. No more than ten privates and no more than five in the castle. No rank higher than a private. You would do him one better, though. To bring the full amount would suggest a lack of trust. And keeping five privates in the monster city would be a logistical nightmare. Five in total would suffice, and you already had your five in mind. Espada would join you. The three from the trip to Mt. Ebott as well. They had been terrified of your story, and their fright of the situation when speaking to other monsterkind in the castle would be effectual. The three would also be able to corroborate your story. The other officer would be Private Kimathi. She was a spitfire, but like Espada, you worked on her ability to think critically concerning monster/human relationships. A wicked little smile spread across your face. This was going to work perfectly. You, of course, also had a trump card in case there was resistance. But that was your secret.

  
Your private revelry over, you called upon Espada to gather your chosen officers and tell them to prepare to leave by morning light to drive the distance to the castle. The monster castle was an imposing building, built of white rock. Behind it was the large monster city. There were other, smaller monster settlements in other locations, but the majority enjoyed the safety of the castle. They lived inside of the former state of California, close to the Southern border, whereas the most significant human settlement, and the entire army, was within the former state of Arizona. Humankind was still widespread, with roving gangs and small villages located throughout New America. The rest of the world was generally unaffected by monsterkind, but due to the New Americas irradiated land and people, all countries had closed their borders to former US citizens.

  
You simply considered yourself lucky that older cars survived the electronic death of America. Riding by horse to New Monster City would take a few weeks, but the drive there was only six hours.

  
Six hours. Too long to sit, sweating in a car, feeling nauseous. Pretending to be cool, calm, and collected was what took most of your energy. You were a ball of nerves, but with the cards laid out, everything should go as planned. All that was left was to get a good night’s rest.

  
…

"So, what do you think she’s playing at, Boss? Acting like she wants to meet the King to discuss the ‘current state of things.’ Smells fishy to me.”

  
“PERHAPS SHE IS FROM A NEW GENERATION. FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND SHE IS THE YOUNGEST GENERAL THE HUMANS HAVE EVER SEEN. OUR SOURCES SAY SHE’S IN HER EARLY TWENTIES. MAYBE SHE REALLY DOES JUST WANT…PEACE,” Papyrus replied. But Red could tell he didn’t believe that.

  
“Of course, they want peace.” Red lifted his gaze to meet his brothers. “They want peace after they take us all out. They’re all the same Pap, and you know it. I don’t know how you keep getting suckered into it, but I’m not falling for this shit anymore.”

  
Papyrus sighed, rubbing the back of his skull. Red became more jaded every passing day. Many times, in the past, some human decided to take up arms as the leader of a new wave. But it was all the same. Tired of being in danger from their own kind, they abandoned their flimsy crusade.

  
But Papyrus wanted to believe. He had met, in his life, some spectacular humans. But time had taken them away, and the insular monster community had not seen a human within its wall for a few years. Even the last General did not visit. Certainly not to discuss treaties. Or dire circumstances. The ominous line in the new Generals letter left Papyrus feeling tense.

  
“WHAT DO YOU THINK HAPPENED THAT WAS IMPORTANT ENOUGH FOR THE GENERAL TO TRAVEL ALL THE WAY HERE, SANS? SOMETHING STRONG ENOUGH TO HAVE KILLED COSCOMBE. FROM WHAT I HEAR HE WAS A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH.”

  
“Hmph. Probably something she is going to blame us for,” Red got up to leave the meeting room, “but I doubt it will be anything worth hearing.”  
…  
PRESENT DAY  
Espada spent the entire ride asking you questions. It was exhausting, but you knew he was just nervous. A fresh new General, driving off into the heart of enemy territory to meet with their 100-year foe. The other Lieutenants were quick to protest, and you were ready to shut them down. They argued that if the monsters wanted to, they could take all six of you out, right then and there. Regardless of your considerable strength, you could not defend against all the boss monsters. Your comrades were right, of course.

  
But you were betting on it going much differently than that.  
…  
Your arrival at the castle received no fanfare. Not expecting any anyway, you left the vehicles near the front. Enormous, heavily fortified walls surrounded the castle, with small buildings in front and an entire city behind. It was quite the juxtaposition—a modern city surrounding a medieval castle.

  
The walk to the meeting room was short. A bunny monster, who noticeably did not introduce himself, led you inside. Guards stood outside and glared as you passed through the large wooden doors at the front and down a vaulted hallway. Behind and to the left of you was Espada, while the rest of the privates followed. You could feel the nervous energy radiating off them from here. Reaching an ornate door, two guards stepped aside. The bunny monster bowed slightly at the waist, beckoning you onward. You approached the doors to pen them, but they began to open themselves instead, by an unseen hand. You breathed in. One step forward.  
…  
“One more minute and she’ll be late!” Undyne scoffed, throwing her hair back. Not a good impression for a first meeting.

  
It was just then that footsteps outside the door stopped. At the head of the table, King Asgore lifted his gaze to stare. This meeting had been weighing on them all. New leadership meant new problems. Everything could fall apart again.

  
All eyes were on the door as it swung open. And in walked the General. She held her head high, back straight. Arms crossed behind her, she turned on her heel to face the long table. Her army regalia was spotless, as was her casual smile. Behind her followed five officers. Asgore had already received word that only five had come at all. One explanation was that the General simply did not expect there to be trouble. Another was that she was naïve. He hoped for the former. She bowed deeply at the waist and began to speak. But was interrupted, suddenly, by loud coughing.  
…  
Red just about died. Right then and there. In walked the girl from his dream the other night. It was undoubtedly her. Same medium brown skin, contrasting with light olive eyes. Her dark brown hair was cut the same, chin-length, with two long locks on either side that hung below her collarbone. He tried to cover up his shout of surprise with a coughing fit, which earned him a stare from the General and everyone else at the table. Her eyes on him made him feel a certain kind of way, all the way to his soul. Red found himself struggling to hold her blank stare.

  
She looked away, back to the King and Queen at the head of the table. In an even tone, she began again. “It is an honor to meet you.”

  
Red, as the Judge, could read people well. It was not so much that he was born to do so, but after centuries of practice, he could read most people like a pamphlet. The General’s eyes glinted in the light; her smile did not waver. She spoke with sincerity. An honor for a human to meet the King and Queen of monsterkind? Red was more willing to doubt his abilities than believe that a new breed of human had overtaken the army.

  
“I have come to discuss with you all some troubled happenings of late. Thank you for agreeing to sit with me. I know this is out of the ordinary.”

  
She could say that again. The King looked like he may have been concealing a huff but beckoned for her to sit. Alphys and Undyne shared a sidelong glance as a tense silence filled the room. Now seated, the General moved her hand to wave her officers away, save the tall, lanky man that stood to the left of her chair. He could sense the four officers’ reluctance as they marched out of the room, leaving the two humans alone with the council of monsters. No one knew what to say, even Papyrus was silent.

  
The General waited.

  
It was Toriel that broke the silence. “You must excuse our awkwardness…this is-this is unprecedented. Please, speak your mind.”

  
Red’s eye lights traveled back to the General. She was trying very hard to seem relaxed, but the tenseness in her spine told another story. Sighing, she spoke in a rush.

  
“We found something in the Underground. Something…evil.”  
…  
The silence lasted only a second before all the monsters began speaking at once.

  
“You found- “

  
WHAT ARE YOU-”

  
“Are you implying that- “

  
“The audacity- “

  
The only monster that was silent was the Queen and the shorter skeleton monster you identified as the Judge. The Queen was reserving her judgment, whereas the skeleton seemed to have had his jaw ripped off.

  
“Silence,” and the room obeyed. The Queen's voice was quiet, but she simmered dangerously. “Child, tell us your story.”

  
Child? That was…fair, you supposed. Recounting the tale as accurately as you could, leaving out your intention to murder the former General yourself, you gained the immediate attention of all present. Every monster’s eye was trained on you. But in particular, you noticed the Judge. He seemed incredibly apprehensive.  
“I believe the sensor that led us down there was not picking up anything random. In my opinion, it was part of a trap. If it was to target specifically whoever followed it or simply a means to open the door, I can’t say for sure. As soon as the door cracked open, it died. Like it had accomplished its mission.”

  
When you described the feeling of symbols and shapes in your head, every eye turned briefly to glance at the red-eyed monster. Turning to him, you felt the need to inquire, “Do you have any experience with this?”

  
“No,” he answered immediately. His lie was blatant, and for that reason, you let it slide. You doubted he would be truthful, but it was fun for him to know that you knew he was lying. You smiled at him wanly; his grimace at your expression brought you joy. His fur-lined hood didn’t seem to be deep enough for him to recede into.

  
Finishing your story, you ended with, “I want to make it clear I do not believe that this was something created by monsters. Neither do I believe that humans created this. I would like to think we would all have the sense to not purposefully make something so dangerous.”

  
“Then why did you come to tell us this?” The King's voice was confounded. He sounded angry, likely due to his inability to understand the meaning of your visit. This information could have been included in a letter, though the act of you even sharing it would have been strange.

  
Before you could respond, the Captain of the Guard, Undyne, interrupted. Her voice had a natural hiss and scratch to it. “If you had been smart, you could have surprised us with this supposedly deadly new enemy. The fact that you didn’t makes me suspect that this was all a falsehood. Are you giving us this information in exchange for something?”

  
You considered how to answer this. In a way, you were. But not what they expected. Coming all this way to ask possibly the most critical question in 100 years, it was time for Stage 4 of your plan.

  
“Yes. I am asking you for something. I am asking for an alliance.” The gasping around you was even joined by Espada. He did not know what your purpose for visiting was. And now he knew. You pushed on before you were interrupted. “Listen, I know you have no reason to trust me. But this new threat cannot be. From what I could see, there may have been thousands of them. To be able to control and take over someone like that would be devastating. I have no reason to believe they couldn’t do the same to a monster. Dr. Alphys, you are the Royal Scientist. Would you like to hear my theory on what happened to Coscombe?”

  
Shifting in her seat, she seemed to find difficulty in meeting your green eyes. “Y-yes. You were there, and your account of what happened is all we have to go on.”  
“I believe the shadow creatures ate Coscombe’s soul.” You needed them to understand how this threat affected you all. Monsters valued souls to the utmost degree, and a beast that could effectively overtake it to control the body would be something they needed to mobilize against. It was hard to be sure what happened to Coscombe, but this didn’t seem like a blatant lie. Honestly, it was your best guess.

  
“ATE HIS SOUL?”

  
Your gaze shifted to the tall, lanky skeleton. It was impressive how expressive a skeleton could be. His eye lights blown wide, and his mouth hung open.  
“Are you seriously proposing an alliance? You must excuse us for looking this gift horse in the mouth, but until we have our proof, we cannot put monsterkind in danger on your word alone. Please give us time to- “

  
You interrupted King Asgore. This was not something that could wait. “You need proof?” Turning to Espada, you held out your hand. Tentatively, he reached into his waist pack. The room tensed, and when he pulled out a glass bottle, vaguely the size of a grapefruit, the tension only grew. Holding it in your hand, you placed it on the table. It wobbled slightly as if the substance was trying to escape. Even now, staring at it gave you a headache. You held your head and looked away.  
“This is what took over Coscombe. I was able to take a small amount from after I cut him down. Here are some things I gathered from observation. It is without mass. It can take any form. It has psychic power. If you touch it, it seems to be able to seep inside you.” At this point, you may have been talking to an empty room. The fear was palpable, and you doubted they were hearing you. You waited for someone to speak. It was the Royal Scientist that broke the silence.  
“H-how did you bring it here? Wit-without touching it?”

  
“Gravity magic. Once I arrived back at our base, I was able to put it into the glass. It was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done. Luckily it does not seem to be able to interact with or pass through solid objects. Consider it a gift to you. I attempted to have our scientists examine it, but they refused to look at it a second time. I have a feeling you have more constitution than that, Dr. Alphys.”

  
She simply stared at the glass container, wide-eyed. Perhaps the glasses were the extra layer of protection she needed. Or perhaps…? No, it would do no good to speculate too early. You dearly hoped the monsters had nothing to do with this, but the look the short red skeleton wore and the knowing look on Dr. Alphys’ face made you worry. It was difficult enough to keep this situation hush. If the other Lieutenants knew that the creatures that killed Coscombe came from the Underground, the blame fell on the monsters. You may be refusing to see the easy answer.

  
Was this a mistake? What if you wanted peace too much to consider that the monsters wanted this to end with a Ragnarök?  
…  
Red could not tear his eyes away. His memories flooded with Gaster. Alphys was too absorbed in the little glass sphere of hell on the table to notice his worried glance, but Toriel and Papyrus were both casting him concerned looks. He ignored them.

  
This absolutely was the work of the former Royal Scientist. But to bring it up in front of the General? To implicate the monster race as the reason the late General had meant his most horrifying end? There would be war.

  
So, he stilled his features, shut down his mind, and stared at the General. Red hoped his stare came across as a disinterested glare, but he wasn’t sure. Just looking at her made his soul thump in his ribs. He wanted to hate her. He needed to hate her. But somehow, her control of the situation was very enticing. The command she had. Her brown skin. Her clever use of magic to trap the void goo. Her presence in his dreams. What the fuck was that supposed to mean?

  
So, he decided, right then and there, to hate her.

  
No matter what.  
…  
The monsters were all thoroughly convinced at this point. You had them by the fucking throat, you could tell. If they didn’t agree, the monsters admitted they either did not think humans could help, which they did, or that they thought the threat of the void sauce didn’t affect them, which they didn’t.

  
After hours of deliberation, the terms of the Monster-Human Alliance came together. One of the monster bosses would accompany you back to the human camp, due to its closer proximity to Mt. Ebott. They would bring with them seven members of the Royal Guard. In the meantime, a dual-purpose structure would be built even nearer Mt. Ebott to shorten the travel distance and even the playing field. A neutral space for both parties to stay would prevent home-field advantage.  
Daily meetings would broker camaraderie between the two races. You would lead them, along with whichever boss monster accompanied you. Your chosen group of officers and the seven monsters would be there as well. All in all, it could not have gone better. The King seemed willing to work with you, though you had a feeling this meeting was being led by Queen Toriel more than him. You noticed he looked at her before deciding something and talked briefly with before presenting an idea. That was something you filed away for later consideration. The other monsters did not protest, though you could tell they were not thoroughly convinced.

  
Now that the meeting began to come to a close, you debated whether to reveal your motivations. While returning to the surface, with all your time to think, you had remembered an earlier thought. If humans did not have a common enemy, infighting would tear the human race apart. Before monsters had emerged, humans fought near constantly. But once a common enemy threatened everyone, all differences melted like summer snow. This is the silver lining you had found. The common enemy. Something that threatened both monsters and humans in equal amounts could force a unification that would slowly break down barriers. While you did not expect it to be instantaneous, you knew that continuing to have insular communities would never solve the problem. Cooperation between monsters and humans would at first be difficult, sure, but over time finding similarities and making alliances would integrate the two races into a genuine peace, not one held together by fear.

  
On the other hand, speaking so plainly about this may show your cards too quickly. You decide against it. You don’t need to reveal so much, especially when everything was going as planned anyway. You may be a stone-cold manipulator, but you didn’t need them to know that.  
…  
The door closed. Seconds passed.

  
“WELL, THAT’S A LOT TO PROCESS. WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?”

  
Red was already standing up. This was all too much. The human was confounding, the information she provided was horrifying, and the sight of this utterly new substance made him nauseous. News of the former Royal Scientist stirring made his nightmares seem more real. He was lucky that the General had been able to prove her story with the glass globe, or else he would have had to share his dreams with everyone.

  
“Well, now comes the part where we decide who will be the monster ambassador to go with the General. Neither the Queen nor I will be able to perform the job. We cannot spare the Captain of the Royal Guard nor the Royal Scientist. That leaves either Sans or Papyrus. Obviously, Papyrus should be the one to go.” Asgore seemed satisfied with this decision. It was fair and made perfect sense.

  
“YES, THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE PAPYRUS WOULD DO THE JOB MOST- “

  
“No,” Red interrupted. “Absolutely not.”

  
“WHATEVER DO YOU MEAN BROTHER! THERE IS NO WAY THAT YOU WANT TO SPEND YOUR TIME WITH HUMANS. CLEARLY, I AM THE BEST CHOICE AS I AM FAR MORE TOLERANT OF HUMANS AND FAR BETTER THAN YOU IN EVERY ASPECT.”

  
“Yeah Red,” Undyne piped up, looking confused. “I don’t understand why you’d want to spend time with the General and her army. You were sending her glares the entire meeting.”

  
“I don’t, but I don’t trust these humans either. No way I’m letting Papyrus go alone.”

  
“That’s very noble of you, Sans,” Toriel cautioned, “but if we want this to work, we need someone who will be willing to work with humankind. I do not think you fit that requirement.”

  
“Fine, then consider this. My knowledge of Gaster’s work will be invaluable in this situation. I am the Judge, and therefore I am the best at reading people and judging if the humans are trying to pull a fast one on us. We all know Papyrus is tolerant of humans, but does it border on overly trusting? The General could easily sucker him into whatever she’s planning. Lastly, you all have been demanding I do something with my life and stop lazing about, and now I’m choosing to take something on.” Red crossed his arms and leaned back, looking grim. To be perfectly clear, this is the last thing in the world he wanted to do. But under no circumstances would he watch his baby brother walk into the enemy’s grasp and have his heart broken by humans and their ill intentions.  
Everyone at the table looked thoroughly shocked. Sans was having a hard time meeting anyone’s eye.

  
“SANS LISTEN, I AM HAPPY TO HEAR YOU ACTUALLY CHOOSING TO DO SOMETHING WITH YOUR LIFE, BUT IF YOU DO NOT SHOW UP TO THESE COLLABORATIVE MEETINGS YOU WILL MAKE MONSTER’S LOOK LIKE THEY ARE NOT TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY. THE GENERAL WILL REPLACE YOU.” Red expertly avoided his brother's look of concern.

  
“Then I’ll go to all the damn blasted meetings! This conversation is over. I’ll move out tomorrow. And when she shows her hand, and it turns out that I was right all along, I’ll come back. Maybe then all of you will stop being so goddam blind.” And with that last gruff statement, Red disappeared in a flash of crimson magic.

  
“WELL, THAT COULD HAVE GONE BETTER. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS, DR. ALPHYS? YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO HASN’T VOICED YOUR OPINION OF THE NEW GENERAL,” Papyrus asked.

  
“Yeah,” Undyne wrapped her arm around her partner's shoulders, “your opinion is valuable. Do you have any reason to trust her?”

  
Alphys, dazed, replied quietly. “She called me Dr. Alphys. A human hasn’t given me that respect in decades.”

  
Feeling overwhelmed, the other monsters had not caught this brief show of respect. It spoke magnitudes about the General, and Alphys allowed herself a moment of hope for the future.  
…  
The sun dipped over the hills as Red wandered the most uninhabited part of the castle. He needed some time to think, alone, and knew his brother would look for him in his room first. Right now, he had rather not have to talk with him.

  
As it turned out, this was his worst decision today.

  
“I did not know monsters could get sick. I hope you recover soon.”

  
It was the damned human General. Of course it was.

  
Red entertained the idea of blipping away but decided to answer her. Know thine enemy and all.

  
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Red turned to face her fully. Her bright uniform, lined with gold, lit her up in the encroaching darkness of the hallway.  
“Your coughing fit earlier. I thought perhaps you were sick.” She was looking at him with intensity, her olive eyes looking up at his red ones. This close to her, he spotted a sizeable scar that crept vertically from her jawline and a black tattoo on her bottom lip like a ring. He thought about how her face had twisted in his dreams, but she looked serene now.

  
 _She knows I’m not sick,_ Red thought. _She’s antagonizing me._

  
He was beginning to regret his earlier decision and all the other ones he’s made in his life that brought him to this point.  
…  
You, of course, knew he wasn’t sick. But the constricted look his eye lights took on when you brought it up was damn funny. He towered over you, looking threatening without even trying. Baring his teeth at you, you noticed a reflective flash in his mouth. A sharp golden canine, perfectly shaped to match his ivory carnivore bite. Your soul shivered a little.

  
 _Dangerous_ , you thought.

  
You counted yourself lucky Papyrus would be the one to go with you. You didn’t know for sure, of course, but it made logical sense. The King wasn’t going to leave his castle to accompany you, and by extension, this meant the Queen could not go either. Dr. Alphys was needed in her lab to research the threat. And the Captain of the Royal Guard would be too valuable to let stray into enemy territory. This left the two skeletons, one of which you knew was the more tolerant of the two. Satisfied that the choice was clear, you let yourself feel pleased it wouldn’t be this angry looking dustbag, who had shot glares at you the entire afternoon and evening.

  
“The only thing I’m sick of is you humans ruining everything. Have you considered that if you hadn’t felt the need to search the Underground, this never would have happened?”

  
Ouch.

  
“I have considered that, actually, yes,” you stepped closer to him, leveling your stare, “and I’ll make sure to contemplate it further on my way back to base tomorrow. I’m sure you’ll be happier when I’m finally out of your…hair.” You don’t know why you insist on stepping on the boss monsters’ toes like this, but something about him riles you up. After years of maintaining flawless composure against all sorts of people you did not like, it was hard to understand why this personality crept under your skin so deep. It worried you, but his taller counterpart did not seem to have the same effect.

  
However, now something else was up. After you finished your backhanded comment, a sick smile had revealed the Judge's full set of teeth, and his eye lights glowed ever brighter. You noticed the window behind you becoming dark, the hallway only lit by the vestiges of daylight now. That, and his searing bloody stare.  
“Oh, little General, do I have some news for you.” You fought to keep your natural smile fixed to your face. His tone was not encouraging. “I will be accompanying you back to base tomorrow, so I hope you have enough of those jabs to last a good long time.”

  
No.

  
No way.

  
You felt your smile twinge downward. After such a productive meeting, this wrench in your plan would throw everything off. You’ve already made an enemy out of this dangerous monster. Also, you hated him. Sure, you were accepting of the monster race. But an individual monster? Fuck him.  
But it wasn’t just that—the slip in your mask, your interrupted composure. You knew the red skeleton had noticed it; his grin grew, and his eyes narrowed at the sign of your displeasure. You didn’t think Papyrus stupid, but you had a feeling the boisterous and naïve monster would not have seen that. You knew the Judge's job was reading people. He would sense all your hidden emotions, all the anxieties and annoyances that you hid under your perfect equilibrium. He would tire you out. He would not cooperate.

  
Stage 4 was not going so well after all.  
…  
Now it was Red’s turn to know you knew he had sensed your anger at this revelation.

  
_Forget feeling sorry for myself earlier. This may work out in my favor after all._

  
The thought of being able to put this tense upstart through the wringer would be a newfound joy in his life. Of course, he was worried about the shadow monsters, but he was also mad that he had dreamed about a human girl he had never met. What the fuck was that supposed to mean. Could he really hate someone so much that they appeared in his dreams before he met them?

  
He probably could.

  
She was a dirty fucking human. And he’d find out her little game.

  
“Madrigal, was it? You seem displeased. But I’m sure there’s no reason to be. You’ll find that I’m extremely agreeable. And I have a great sense of humor.” Red tried to look wolfish, but she seemed to be paying particular attention to his teeth. Looks like she was not so easily scared.

  
“I only doubt one of those things, Judge. But please, continue to call me the General. Your attempts to callously distance yourself from our professional relationship were charming.”  
.  
.  
.  
He almost laughed. Fuck.

  
Instead, he moved past her, tossing his head over his shoulder to quip, “I hope you continue to find me charming. We’ll be seeing a lot of each other, Mads. Tomorrow will be the start of something wonderful. I just know it.” And at that, he allowed himself a chuckle before he puffed out of existence.

  
All alone in his room, Red punched a wall.

  
 _Charming._  
…  
MADS??? Mads? Mads. This absolute bastard, you didn’t even let Espada call you Mads. And he was probably your best friend. You had to put this guy out of your mind.

  
So, you went to the officer’s quarters. Knocking on the first door, you were greeted by Kimathi, toothbrush hanging from her mouth. She jumped and stood at attention, looking only a little ridiculous.

  
“General Vieira, ithzz tho good to thee-“

  
“Please remove the toothbrush from your gob, you nutjob.”

  
“Yes ma’am.”

  
You adored Kimathi. Her and Espada were the people you put on the career track to be Lieutenants. It had been your job to pick the next batch, and while they hadn’t performed the best of the bunch, their attitudes were superior. Taking action to protect the future was essential, but having insurance that the next generation was going to continue to uphold change was equally crucial. So, you cherry-picked, and you worked on them afterward. Breaking the hold of a lifetime of propaganda was a lot of work, but you saw them becoming more empathetic every day.

  
“We’re moving out tomorrow. I know you only briefly saw the monster council, but we will be accompanied by one of them tomorrow. The Judge.”

  
“Was that the punk-looking skeleton?”

  
You were about to answer her when you were interrupted by Espada. “Which one? Both of the skeletons were pretty punk looking.”

  
“Yeah,” Kimathi continued, “was it the happy angry looking one or the angry angry looking one?”

  
You dearly wished it was the happy angry one.

  
“It’s the angry angry looking one.”

  
“Booooo,” they both chorused.

  
Boo indeed.

  
“Well, tonight we celebrate an alliance. I know I didn’t tell you all about this sooner, but things will be changing around here. And you two will be my allies in this. I trust you with my life, I guess. So, sit down. I have some stuff to tell you.”

  
Sometimes you liked to imagine yourself with an enormous chessboard laid out in front of you. So many players. So many moves. So many setbacks. Like chess, occasionally a cat would jump on the board and knock all the pieces over. You liked to imagine the Judge with cat ears.

  
 _Red_ , you thought. _Insufferable prick._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've found the perfect theme song for their relationship! Combat Baby by Metric. I'm loving the dialogue between these two. Nothing gets my goat quite like bickering. Any suggestions? Leave them below.


	3. Things to Come

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Red is a grumpy bitch and pulls a full Katara threatening Zuko in this one.   
> This is the hardest and longest chapter yet, some more good Red pining for the human woman that he hates.   
> Mads is trying to stay unaffected but how the hell does his skele-body work?

He had laid down that night, pretending he would go to sleep.

And then it was morning.

It was almost time to leave. He couldn’t believe that he had lived in the same place for 100 years and now he had to go. Had to leave his brother behind and everything else, just to go aggravate this human until she gave up. Still, he loved the way her face scrunched up before taking a deep breath to pretend she didn’t care.

_ Precious.  _

…NO.

Red couldn’t believe this.

…

You woke up with a beam of light directly in your eye. After a few years, waking up at precisely 6am had been natural; something told you it was earlier than that.

_ Damn summer sun. _

Your room in the castle was spacious and beautiful. Much better than the room back at your base. Luckily you wouldn’t spend enough time here to get used to the luxury. It wouldn’t be time to depart for another few hours, though. What could you do with all your time to kill? Well, it would either be to track down one of the other boss monsters and casually find something to bond over, wake up your officers early to force them to entertain you, or sit alone in your room and run scenarios through your head until you had a panic attack.

Not a hard decision.

Now, where to find a monster awake at what looks to be about 4am?

…

Undyne untangled herself from the yellow monster. Alphys stayed up far too late researching that awful substance the human General had brought. It was best to let her sleep. But Undyne could not join her. Riddled with anxiety, all she could think of was the new state of things. Either monsterkind was going to have to face shadow creatures, the human army, or both. It was time to train until she couldn’t worry anymore. After so long pretending that everything was ok, trying to ignore the temporary calm, was it time for the storm?

She looked back at Alphys’ face. Times of war always strained relationships. But this time they would be strong enough.

The Captain of the Royal Guard dressed, as quietly as she could, before gently closing the door and heading down to the training quarters. Hopefully, Papyrus would be there. That, or nobody.

…

The training rooms were empty, but you had a feeling you would be graced with company soon. And you were right, of course. Somehow you never got tired of it. The training dummy in front of you was receiving a serious beatdown when the door opened. Pretending to act surprised, you jumped and spun towards the sound.

_ So, it’s the Captain.  _

Your hand found itself rubbing the back of your head, trying to look sheepish.

“Sorry, I didn’t think anyone would be here so early. I’m just trying to work out some nerves. I can leave if you’d like.” Just like you hoped, she seemed unwilling to comply. Sometimes you were too good.

“No, it's fine. You can stay, human. This room is generally empty at this time.”

“I can’t believe your awake. I mean I wake up early, but 4am? That’s a bit too much for me.”

She seemed affronted. “Well,” she held out a hand, forming a glowing white-blue spear, “then why are you up?”

The training sword found itself against the dummy’s side. You attempted to look stressed as a way of answering. It wasn’t hard. Because you were.

The blue fish monster was silent for a time. Her training dummy was cut to shreds within seconds, pieces falling quietly to the ground.

“You know what the best remedy for feeling weak is?”

Suddenly you wondered if you had miscalculated. Undyne was looking at you quite viciously. You were about to answer when she lobbed a spear at you; it whistled past your head as you dodged, and you couldn’t help but notice that if you hadn’t moved, it would have killed you.

You think you knew what her remedy for ‘feeling weak’ was. But as much as you didn’t want to, you knew that if you backed down, she would see it as weakness. At the same time, you didn’t want her to know all your best moves. Perhaps you couldn’t win this little fight, but you could certainly give her a run for her money.

“NGGGAAAHHHHH!” She screamed, one yellow-magenta eye flashing dangerously. Spears erupted all around you, white-hot and glowing. You danced around them, trying to make your way to your real sword. The wooden training one likely wouldn’t cut it.

_ Haha, literally _ , you thought.

“Are you seriously running from me? I was so excited to meet this new General, but it looks like you’re just a weak little human. To show your face inside our castle and not even have the guts to fight me! I will crush you, worm!” Her taunting voice grated on your nerves, but perhaps an energy-draining fight with a normal monster that wasn’t made of pitch void was exactly what you needed. Finally, with one last jump through the air, your hands closed around your sword. A beautiful piece of engineering made of a light bronze-like metal. You unsheathed it, turning to face her.

There was a silence. You both stood, facing each other, as the dust settled. From this angle, you could really appreciate Undyne’s beefy figure. She was ripped in a way you’ve never seen on another human, man or woman. Lithe was not a word that came to mind, she looked like if someone trained a bear on free weights and steroids before shaving it and dressing it like a punk rocker of the old days.

In the distance, the sound of rushing footsteps. Looks like the clamor of fifty spears erupting through hard floor was enough to wake some of the castle’s inhabitants. The door to the room banged open. There was a bottom floor entrance and then a wrap-around seating area overlooking the room, turning it into an arena. Standing under its overhang, you could see monsters filling in. You even spotted your officers, who you shook your head at slowly.

_ Looks like they want a show. _

Undyne used your moment of distraction to launch another series of attacks that you dodged, trying to get closer to her. Drowning out the cheering, you could hear the fizzle pop of magical energy around you. Even knowing this wasn’t the plan, you so badly wanted to win this fight. Competitive nature be damned, this fish Captain needed to pay for calling you a worm.

You were going to get the first hit in.

…

Busy zoning out, contemplating yesterday, he jumped when the series of explosions rang cacophonously through the hall.

_ What the hell? _

Hoping that this wasn’t a surprise attack by the General, he teleported closer to the source of the sound, and right in the middle of a crowd of rushing monsters. A few feet away, the General’s officers ran into the training hall, looking worried.

Red breathed a sigh of relief. He could hear Undyne’s voice shouting even from outside the doors. Laying back down sounded nice…but watching the human get her smug ass fed to her by Undyne seemed even better. He hoped she’d cry.

Following the crowd in, he was just in time to see it. Having one working eye made depth perception difficult sometimes, but there was no mistaking that.

Undyne suddenly summoned a spear, throwing it at the General. Who…caught it? Out of thin air. Impossible. The spear's speed was too fast for the human eye to follow, even the act of catching the pike would take precision and strength he’d never witnessed in a human. But he had seen it. So, it was real.

She held it directly in front of her face. Enough time to stare into Undyne’s eye, calm, heartbeat steady. As if she didn’t miss death by two inches. Then she crushed it in her one hand like it was glass.

The crowd that had been chanting for the Captain fell silent. Many of them might have just seen the human suddenly holding a spear as if she summoned it herself, their eyes not being trained in battle.

The silence was broken, loudly, by two people. Two of the humans who the General had brought began cheering, jumping up and down.

“Yeah, General! Kick her ass!”

The crowd erupted again. But Red was barely registering this. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from her. Her posture relaxed and ready, she raised her sword and put her hand up, towards Undyne. ‘Come and get some,’ her hand mimed. And her eyes. Steady. Daring. Filled with…determination.

_ What is this human? _

…

The shouting of your officers filled you with strength, and you pushed off the ground, towards Undyne. She was stronger, but you were faster. You knew that because you knew you were faster than anybody. Her eye struggled to follow you as you cut in from her left, lunging at her unguarded side. It was best to always move in her left, the blindside. Spears erupted from the ground, which you jumped over. Sailing over her head, you landed behind her and lunged again. She turned, too slow, and you caught her leg, slicing across.

“AUGH YOU BRAT!”

She summoned two spears in her hands and swung them both at you, closing you in.

_ Backward or up? _

You leapt up, just in time, as the two spears crossed over where you were. Landing on top of them, perched like a gargoyle, you considered posing like an asshole. It may throw Undyne off as she got angrier, but you needed the crowd to like you. So, you swung your leg out, performing a sweeping kick, which she dodged by dematerializing her spears. You rolled backward as you fell.

There was another beat before she began forming spears out of the ground, forcing you to run. Some of them you couldn’t dodge in time as she shot spears where you were headed, not where you were. The little cuts slowed you down as the pain wormed its way into your body.

_ Trying to tire me out, huh? _

Undyne bullied you to the corner of the room, where she closed you in. Being cornered would not be great, but her wide-ranged attacks gave her control of the arena. Backed against the corner, you turned to face her. A row of blue spears surrounded you, including ones that caged you in at the top.

“Looks like I have you beat, huh.” Her voice aggravated you. It might have been a good option to back down. But let’s be honest. You weren’t going to do that.

“Sure looks that way. You know what though, Captain. You were right.”

She cocked an eyebrow at you, jagged yellow teeth disappearing behind a frown.

“I don’t feel weak at all now.”

…

Red watched with amazement, only dimly aware of his brother next to him.

“I Can’t Believe This Sans. She Is Holding Her Own.”

He could barely even respond with a hm. But he could tell Boss was eyeing him again.

“Why Are you Doing This? You Clearly Aren’t Going To Have A Good Time. Are You Worried My Greatness Will Make Her Stick Around? Bec- “

Papyrus was interrupted by a new development, which was good because Red didn’t even know how to answer him. The General was backed into a corner, surrounded by spears. Undyne stood in front of her, trading words he couldn’t make out.

“Looks like Mads’ time is up.”

“YOU CALL HER MADS NOW?”

Red watched her intently. He knew Undyne wouldn’t kill her, but he hoped she would gently maim her. Instead, of course, the human General subverted his expectations. She held her sword in her hand and pressed on the handle. There was a gasp around the room as the blade collapsed to the ground in segmented pieces, held together by a glowing cord in the center.

_ Is that a fucking whip sword? _

Backed in a corner, surrounded by spears, the human swung her flexible whip sword in an arc and cut through the magic even as they shot toward her. Not fast enough, she missed one at the top, and unable to dodge it sliced through her bicep. The General charged Undyne, who summoned a spear. Head to head, their weapons clashed together. The whip sword had condensed back into a sword and held rigidly against the buzzing energy of the spear. Face to face, the two leaders gritted their teeth and glared.

“Who Do You Think Will Win?” Papyrus asked. Red turned to answer, though it didn’t look like Boss was actually asking him. His eyes were bright, unable to look away.

But Red honestly didn’t know.

…

“Is that a fucking whip sword? What kind of weapons have you humans been working on?” Undyne strained through clenched teeth. You were having a hard time answering. She was incredibly powerful, and you didn’t think you’d be able to hold her blow much longer. Especially considering your bicep was gashed. It seemed that Undyne’s magic immediately cauterized the wound even as it sliced, so you were not at risk of bleeding out. With two hands on her spear, she bared down with her advantageous height.

“Oh, you know, just trying to level the playing field,” you rasped, heels beginning to crack the ground.

Undyne scoffed, before taking one hand off the spear and holding it out, materializing another in her hand.

_ Oh fuck.  _

Before you could evade, a new sound startled the both of you.

“Undyne, wh-what the HELL are y-you doing?” A shrieking voice silenced the crowd.

You watched as Undyne disengaged from you suddenly, backing away. She held her hands up in a defensive position, and for the first time since you started fighting, looked genuinely nervous.

“Oh, you know just…just training like usual.”

This was amusing, definitely. The beefiest monster you’d seen utterly cowed by a little yellow lizard. Said yellow lizard began to stomp down the stadium stairs as some of the crowd dispersed. You couldn’t possibly understand why, this is the most interesting thing that’s happened all day.

“It didn’t lo-look like you were just training! You destroyed the arena. Undyne, you ca-can’t kill her we-were working together!” Her stutter-yell was indeed something to behold. She stopped in front of the both of you. Her gaze met yours, and you smiled reassuringly.

“Oh, we were just training Dr. Alphys. Undyne helped me cool off some nerves. Glad you came when you did though, she was about to embarrass me in front of everyone.”

Both monsters looked at you uncertainly, but you knew you had done Undyne a solid. Folding your hands in front of you, you bent quickly at the waist towards Undyne, before turning on your heel. Alphys’ and Undyne’s conversation continued in harsh, quiet tones as you were met by your two officers. They both grabbed your injured arm and stared at the wound, gaping.

“That was so cool General! You really gave her a run for her money!” Espada was glowing at you.

Kimathi had the decency to lead you away to receive medical attention, but you knew you heard her cheering earlier. You had felt their gaze on you. And somebody else’s, too.

Your eyes moved up to the second floor, where you caught the eyes of the two skeleton monsters. Papyrus seemed level, maybe there was admiration in his eyes, but there was a fire in the Judge’s gaze that made you shudder. He looked…mad? No. Maybe frustrated? Or

_ Hungry. _

…

Red and Papyrus made their way downstairs, Papyrus jumping over the railing and Red blipping to the bottom. Undyne and Alphys stood, still talking as they approached.

“A-a whip sword?! Like Renji from Bleach?”

“Ugh, don’t talk about Bleach…and also kinda.”

“I CANNOT BELIEVE THE HUMAN LASTED SO LONG AGAINST YOU UNDYNE. BUT YOU WERE ABOUT TO GET HER. SHE WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BLOCK THAT!” Papyrus interrupted, smiling fully at his Captain. But she didn’t react. Instead, her gaze drifted to the ground which was…very not like Undyne.

“Hey,” Red started, trying to catch Undyne’s downturned eye, “she couldn’t have dodged that, right?”

“HRRNNGGHH! That’s the thing! I think she could have! She looked surprised, but like she was already prepared.”

Hmph. Of course. It was too bad Red didn’t like to do anything, or he would start a fight with her just to watch her dodge all his bone attacks. Maybe he could slice her other bicep.

_ Haha she couldn’t be MADS at that…oh shit Papyrus was talking to him. _

“Sup bro.”

“WERE YOU EVEN LISTENING SANS. I WAS ASKING YOU HOW YOU WERE GOING TO DEAL WITH THE GENERAL.”

“Well, I’m going to do what I do best. I’m gonna pun her to death.” They all groaned in unison, accepting his answer. But that was not accurate. He was going to intimidate her until she folded under his thumb like a good human.

…

With your wounds bandaged, you began to pack your things for the journey. You still had not met the other monsters that would be accompanying you all, but you hoped they were not as abrasive as the big guy. He was going to be a tough nut to crack. But he seemed like he paid attention to you. A lot actually. He had not been staring at Undyne during the fight. That was good, you’d rather have him hate you than be apathetic. If the Judge cared enough to hate you, he could care enough to love the cause. You’d just have to divert his energy.

Kimathi sat in your bed as you neatly folded your clothes and put them away.

“So, what do you think about the angry angry one? He stares at you like he wants to eat you.” She laughed, clearly teasing. Her black curls bounced around her head in her mirth.

“He probably could with those teeth.”

“Are you going to use your powers of manipulation to bend him to your will, General?”

_ Yes. _

“No, Kimathi, I am going to convince him with pathos, logos, and ethos that he should be gung-ho for our cause. This alliance could end the war, and I can finally stop worrying about all of you.”

“You know General,” Espada started, “if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were happy the late General died and there’s a…what did you call it? A world-ending shadow beast?”

Espada was damn good. He knew you too well at this point. But luckily Kimathi was there to defend you.

“Don’t say that! The General is clearly scared and doing what’s best for us.”

They dissolved into back and forth bickering, before there was a knock at the door. Espada moved to open it.

Not who you expected.

_ Papyrus, huh? _

Your officers fell silent as the lanky skeleton moved through the doorway. The castle was built in a way that even the tallest monsters didn’t have to duck their heads under the door frames, which was good because he was definitely one of the tallest. Though you had been expecting Red, this was a welcome surprise. To be honest, Papyrus seemed the wildcard to you. Asgore was the King, Toriel was the Queen. Alphys was the Royal Scientist, and Undyne was the Captain of the Royal Guard. Red was the Judge, even if you didn’t really know what that meant. But what did Papyrus do? Moral support? Comedic relief? Was he some sort of mascot? All questions you didn’t want to ask. You got the distinct feeling that he was a little full of himself and would take offense to your inquiry.

“AH, THE ESTEEMED GENERAL. IS IT OK IF I CALL YOU MADS? RED DOES.” Your officers turned to stare at you incredulously. But you didn’t even get time to tell him no.

“ANYWAY, MADS, I JUST WANTED TO SEE YOU OFF. I WAS THE ONE IN CHARGE OF CHOOSING THE SEVEN MONSTER GUARD MEMBERS THAT WOULD ACCOMPANY YOU TO THE BASE. I’M SURE YOU’LL FIND THAT MY SELECTION WAS IMMACULATE.”

Yeah, a little full of himself. Still, he was incredibly endearing. Even though he was shouting.

“I’m sure I will Papyrus. To be sure, I had thought you would be the boss monster accompanying me. You must have had other duties to attend to, though.” You were fishing for an answer. Something must have happened that had kept him from joining you.

“NYEHEHEH YOU MUST HAVE BEEN DISAPPOINTED TO HEAR THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE PAPYRUS WOULD NOT BE THE MONSTER AMBASSADOR. TRUST ME, I HAD WANTED TO GO TO PROVE HOW AMAZING MONSTERS (ESPECIALLY ME) CAN BE. BUT RED WAS…WELL.”

“What was I, Boss?”

Boy, he was hella spooky.

Ignoring your shrieking officers, you turned to invite the other skeleton monster into your room, only to find that he already was. It was starting to get crowded. He moved to your desk, standing next to a silent Papyrus. Looks like it was time for a serious conversation.

“Espada, Kimathi…ensure the other officers are ready to leave.” You said, dismissing them. They glanced at you nervously before exiting. And now you were alone with the two skeletons.

“I had hoped,” you began, gesturing for them to be seated at the table by your window, “that I would be briefed on the seven chosen monsters. But with time as it is, it looks like I’ll learn on the way.”

“Well, maybe if you didn’t spend the better part of the morning fighting Undyne we would have had time,” Red argued, dryly. He had a point, which bothered you.

“BROTHER IS THAT HOW YOU TALK TO YOUR NEW COMRADE? I THOUGHT YOU WERE ON SUCH GOOD TERMS. NOT EVEN HER OFFICERS CALL HER MADS.” Papyrus chastised, much to your chagrin. Boy, he was oblivious; did he not feel the tension between you two?

“Oh, worry not Papyrus, Red and I are, dare I say, the best of friends.” Red shot you a glare for that one, eye lights shrinking as his brow furrowed. It was hard not to stare. The way his face expressed even though he was made of bone was something to behold. His grin may seem permanent without lips, but he could still pull expressive faces. Both of them could. Sometimes you wanted to reach out and just pinch his face, but you had a feeling that would not be well received. So, you resigned yourself to staring at his body, which was also difficult because…how was he big? He was covered in a large hooded jacket and jogger like pants, so not much bone was exposed. But he seemed to have a great deal of bulk. Were his bones just super thick? Did he pad his clothing? Ugh, it made you want to see him shirtless, which was exactly where you DID NOT need your mind wandering. Then, of course, you tried to focus on his voice and stare past him, but his dulcet tones and deep chuckles were far too intriguing—all in all, an irritating, mesmerizing, confounding, shudder-inducing monster.

Papyrus pulled you from your quiet revelry, shouting “I AM GLAD TO HEAR THIS HUMAN GENERAL, IN THIS TIME OF CRISES IT IS GOOD TO SEE US WORKING TOGETHER. I HOPE YOU ARE TRUE IN THIS ALLIANCE. IT MAKES ME HOPEFUL TO SEE YOU AND YOURS HERE. EARLIER, ONE OF YOUR OFFICERS TOLD ME GOOD MORNING. I BELIEVE WE ARE NOW FRIENDS TOO! DELIGHTFUL, NEW LEADERSHIP IS!”

That was an incredibly generous sentiment. Fate must have it out for you, forcing the shittier brother to sit at your table and help lead this alliance. If he could express ideals like this, unification would be far more manageable. You thanked him as he exited, turning to see Red still sitting on your desk, glaring.

“Did you have something else you wanted to add?” You asked, moving to close your bag. “I hope you’ve said your goodbyes, its time to head down to the trucks.”

And suddenly, he was behind you, leaning down to growl into your ear. “It's easy to fool my brother, sweetheart, but not so easy to fool me. I can see what you’re doing, being so respectful and understanding of us all, playing your fucking game. But the first time you slip up in front of me, I’m gonna Judge you, right then and there.”

You knew you should be scared, but his hot breath and raspy drawl warmed your neck and reddened your face.

He was gone before your brain caught up.

…

If he didn’t stop thinking about her, he was going to crack his goddam skull. She was so…UGH! He didn’t even know. Waltzing in here after everyone had finally agreed with him that the human race was never going to redeem themselves, never going to extend an olive branch, never going to work for peace. Unbelievable. King Asgore accepted her offer, Alphys spoke of her respectful character, Undyne grudgingly admitted her fighting prowess, Papyrus wholeheartedly admired her and the hope she inspired. No one would listen to him concerning the convenience of current events. General Coscombe passing, position perfectly usurped by a supposed monster accepting human who appears with news of Grave Circumstances. Some otherworldly threat used as a peace dove to scare everyone into uniting. Whispers of Gaster in his dreams, the human woman living in his skull like a pathetic obsession. Nothing that made him feel like a pawn in a game of chess, run by an invisible hand, could possibly be right. It was all rotten, he thought, with the General at the center. Her pawns, too, worshipped her.

She was a dog of the military, no matter what beliefs she espoused. Her LV was likely through the roof (though his was pretty high now too) and her soul dull and sickly. Explaining away all the bad things one has done will do that to you.

_ Too hypocritical, perhaps _ .

Considering all the boss monsters became more corrupted every day. Love, hope, and compassion; that’s what all of them used to be made of. But every day spent in fear, figuring out ways to end the war, and killing, twisted their once pure white souls into something more powerful, something more dangerous. He used to be blue and white and carefree. But now he was red and cynical and so so angry. They were all different now, even Papyrus had seen enough to make him blood orange. Because of humans, they would never be the same, the cracks in their souls and their bodies were permanent.

Because of humans, he could never forgive nor forget.

…

It was time.

It was time.

It was time.

By god, you were vibrating with nervous energy. Your brain felt light and airy, your heart pounded uncomfortably in your chest. The only thing that could ground you was your necklaces, which you clutched like salvation. Remember who you are doing this for.

Remember who you are doing this for.

_ Remember _ .

You made your way outside, casting one last glance at the castle that loomed over you in the mid-morning sun. It was a shame you had not been able to check out the city, but new developments would require you to return. Perhaps then things would be less tense, and you could immerse yourself in monster culture.

Before you were the caravan. Kimathi, Espada, and Dufresne would take one truck with the other monsters, while your other two officers would drive you, Red, and your luggage. You spotted Red leaning against the other vehicle, seemingly asleep. You made your way over to him. With no other monsters in sight, you had to ask where Papyrus’ chosen ambassadors were. His cigar smoke drifted through the air, stinging your nose. He cracked an eye light open as you approached; another absolute wonder, did he have eyelids? Was it a piece of flexible flesh-like bone or…oh you were staring shit.

…

She was staring at him. Again. He didn’t even need his eye open to see it…he could feel it. She was an intense person, and her gaze twisted something inside him. Finally, she spoke.

“Where are the monsters? They are making us late.”

“They’ll get here, sweetheart. They just had to pack up and leave their homes at your behest. So, try and be patient.”

Her reaction to his nickname was precisely what he was looking for. Her nose did the scrunching thing and her eyes narrowed.

“Listen to me, you will not continue to call me nicknames. Mads is a bridge too far, do not call me that again. But sweetheart? Who the fuck do you think you are?”

Oooh, she cursed at him. That was a first.

He attempted to speak again but she cut him off, shoving a finger against his chest. She was so close to him he could smell her.

_ Was that lavender? _

“Your attempts at intimidation are childish and pathetic. If you continue to disrespect me, especially in front of my officers, I am not going to bend over. There will be consequences.”

He couldn’t help barking out a laugh.

“I like it when you talk about bending over. I like it a skele- _ ton _ .”

Quick as lightning, she snatched the cigar out of his mouth, holding his gaze as she did. Taking a careless drag, she pinned him with her sword through his hood.

“I will turn around right now and renegotiate the terms of this alliance. If you’re not a team player, you get put in time out. Do you really think your council will hesitate to replace you with Papyrus if I say so?”

What was she doing to him? He could feel the sweat forming on his brow as her olive fire eyes seared him.

“That’s what I thought you fatheaded clod. You will call me General. Get in the truck, we are leaving now. I don’t feel like sweating through my uniform any more than I already have.” With that, she threw the rest of his cigar on the ground under her tall white boots.

So demanding, he bet she topped in bed.

_ Gotta stop thinking like this.  _

“You know its not fair that you call me Red and Judge, but I can only call you General!” He called as he blipped into the second row of seats, next to her. She ignored him, pounding the metal divider. The truck lurched forward, pulling away from the castle. He looked back, wondering when the next time he would see everyone was.

…

Your need to meet the chosen monsters would have to wait. Likely, only half would be able to come on this trip, the others joining you all whenever the new site was built. Either way, Kimathi, Espada, and Dufresne would handle taking the other truck with them. You had full trust.

Luckily, it was just the two privates in the front seats, divided by the metal wall. Because Red’s constant puns and jibes were sending you somewhere.

“You know Mads, if you don’t find me  _ humerus, _ you could drop the act and be the real you. Don’t worry, you can dust me right here. Everyone knows you want.

“Are you really going to do this?” You had had enough of him. There was a righteous fury in your soul, this monster was jeopardizing everything you had worked for because he didn’t like you. This selfishness would not do.

“Am I going to do what?” He had dropped his mocking tone, apparently noticing the flint in your voice.

“You know, if I was the leadership when you had offered a truce, I would have taken it. And if you betrayed us, I would have accepted another truce. And another. I wouldn’t ever give up hope even as your council deceived humankind. Do you want to know why?”

Another tense silence. His eye lights were dimmed, and his characteristic Cheshire grin had faltered slightly as you calmly raged.

“Because every goddam week we spend in this war, people die. Monsters die. Good monsters and good people that don’t have any say in how the game is played. I’m tired of death. I’m tired of funerals. I’m tired of writing eulogies and trying to make it sound different than the one before and the one before. I don’t want any more monsters dusted; I don’t want any more people gutted. I just don’t. So, I would do anything to make peace work. I would try and get along with people I didn’t like because the orphanages are full, Judge.”

He twisted angrily in his seat, trying to form words. But you knew you were right.

“Y-you have no fucking idea what we’ve been through- “

“No,” you interrupted, “I don’t. I have no idea what you’ve been through, Judge, and it’s doubtful I ever will. I’ve figured out why you came, though. You wanted to protect Papyrus, huh? You were worried he’d come down and discover our supposed treachery and be heartbroken. But he is not a coward. Not like you. You think you’re protecting him, but when you convince the humans that monsterkind does not give a shit about peace and I can’t force my people to want to work with you, you will be the reason he hurts. He has hope, despite everything, and you are so needing to be right, you want to take it away from him. I wish he was here instead of you, but he’s not.”

“You don’t know anything about Papyrus. How dare you tell me how he feels and what he’s like.”

He sure is convinced you don’t know a lot of things that you know you know. “You say that Red, and certainly, I only met him briefly, but I know how happy he was when my officer told him good morning and treated him with respect. I know he wants the Monster-Human Alliance to work. I know he’s scared of what I found in Mt. Ebott. I know he has hope and that he inspires hope.” You glared at him. “I know he’s the only one of you that still truly smiles.”

“Humankind is rotten and wrong. You’ve fucked monsterkind for centuries. I’m protecting the ones I love.” He bit out at you.

“Yes, we’ve both been pretty terrible. As I remember, there was a monster attack on an unarmed human settlement two years ago. But I investigated it more, and it turns out it was an extremist sect of the Royal Army that was snuffed out by Undyne following said event. And from what I understand, your King and your Captain worked together to kill six children and almost succeeded at killing a seventh. Now I can’t say I’ve ever murdered a child, but I do know that the desperation of the ones you're sworn to protect can drive a monarch to do some pretty terrible things.”

Red was brooding, contemplative. You had managed to silence him, and you desperately hoped you were getting through to him. You didn’t like him, but you didn’t need to. Hopefully, he could manage to be so mature.

“Humans have committed untold sins,” you shifted in your seat, “ones that I’m not responsible for. Ones that your kind isn’t responsible for. The only thing I can do is stop it from happening in the future. But there’s a worse threat. Sometimes I still feel it whispering in my head. I’ll never forget how it spoke in Coscombe’s voice, how I had to cut through him. Potentially it could crawl out of the hole and kill us all. At least the war would be over, huh? But no one would be alive to enjoy it.” Your attempt at humor was met with a wane smile. Perhaps you had gotten through to him. Only one way to find out. Both of you were silent for the rest of the ride.

…

So what she had a point? So what? He could never admit that she made him feel guilty about Papyrus. His brother had asked him multiple times about the General, but he hadn’t thought that Papyrus was nervous, trying to determine if he could handle this. Handle it without fucking it up. Red couldn’t say he regretted going. He could still protect his brother better choosing to walk into the lion’s mouth.

But there was something else.

Regrettably, he found himself enjoying his verbal battles with the General. With Mads. His life had fallen into a routine, and she shattered it. Life was boring, even as someone who didn’t like doing anything. But there was a humming in his soul—a feeling of things to come.

Over the horizon, he spotted the flag of the human encampment and the wall surrounding it. Sparing a glance to the side, he couldn’t help but notice how the General clutched her necklaces. She did it a lot, so he had taken to studying them. One looked like a locket, while the other appeared like a small vial.

_ Wonder what they mean to her.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments would be appreciated. Cant wait to start writing when they actually like each other. And about Mads' terrible backstory

**Author's Note:**

> This is it. Let me know what you think. No current update schedule, just writing when the manic panic overtakes me. Sans will be much more involved in the next chapter. I made a DollDivine of what Lieutenant looks like, if anyone cares to see.


End file.
